Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of the bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell, and Powerfool. The original lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Kai Hansen, bassist Markus Grosskopf, guitarist Michael Weikath, and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Hansen left the band in 1989 to form Gamma Ray, by which time Helloween had evolved into a five-piece with Michael Kiske as lead vocalist. Schwichtenberg and Kiske both departed in 1993, with Schwichtenberg dying by suicide in 1995. Between 1993 and 2016, the band underwent several lineup changes, leaving Grosskopf and Weikath as the only remaining original members. The current septet includes all surviving members of the "Keeper of the Seven Keys" lineup—Hansen, Weikath, Kiske, and Grosskopf—alongside Andi Deris, Sascha Gerstner, and Daniel Löble from the "Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy" era. Since their formation, Helloween has released 17 studio albums, five live albums, three EPs, and 31 singles. The band has received 14 gold and six platinum awards and has sold over 10 million records worldwide. Helloween is frequently cited as one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s, has been referred to as the "fathers of power metal," and is considered part of the genre’s "big four" in Germany alongside Grave Digger, Rage, and Running Wild, as well as one of the "big four" of power metal internationally with Blind Guardian, Sabaton, and DragonForce. Studio albums Walls of Jericho (1985) Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987) Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part II (1988) Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991) Chameleon (1993) Master of the Rings (1994) The Time of the Oath (1996) Better Than Raw (1998) The Dark Ride (2000) Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003) Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy (2005) Gambling with the Devil (2007) 7 Sinners (2010) Straight Out of Hell (2013) My God-Given Right (2015) Helloween (2021) Giants & Monsters (2025)